Faithful to the spirit of Opus Dei, the couple passed on to their children and to many other people their example of Christian life and marriage, of a “bright and cheerful home,” as St. Josemaria used to say.

There can be no better gift for a father… than the grateful love of a son. That affection grows and matures with years and becomes even more deeply rooted when the father has gone, even though he is known to be nearer and more active than ever. Rafael Alvira, a son before a philosopher, considered at the death of his father the legacy he received.

The first meeting between Tomás Alvira and the Founder of Opus Dei took place during a very difficult time, as the civil war had broken out little more than a year before. It occurred in Madrid, in the midst of a religious persecution that had already produced many martyrs. Tomás used to go to the house of an old friend from the Chemistry Faculty of Saragossa, Josémaría Albareda.

Faithful to the spirit of Opus Dei, the couple passed on to their children and to many other people their example of Christian life and marriage, of a “bright and cheerful home,” as St. Josemaria used to say.